Gambling games are conventionally controlled by an operator, such as, for example, a lottery corporation To ensure the integrity of the game and to eliminate any possibility of fraud, the operator foresees every aspect of the game, such as: collecting the wagers, issuing tickets or receipts, executing the draw, paying the winners, etc Examples of such games include: traditional lotteries, instant play lotteries (also called “scratch & win” lotteries), casino games and video lotteries.
The increasing performance and popularity of personal computers have brought new possibilities for gambling games. However, the main issue when using a personal computer for implementing a gambling game is the game integrity. Indeed, since the lottery corporation has no direct control over the hardware and software of the player's personal computer, other means for maintaining game integrity are required.
Solutions to this problem have been proposed by Kaye in two related United States patents both entitled “Personal Computer Lottery Game”: U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,082, issued on Oct. 29, 1996 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,603 issued on Jan. 20, 1998. Although these documents disclose the use of a code printed on a lottery ticket to play a lottery game on a personal computer, they do not disclose sufficient means to ensure the integrity of the game.
Another drawback of Kaye's game is that the code only provides information about the outcome of the game. Since all the codes that correspond to a winning outcome are likely to produce an identical game for the player, the player's enjoyment of the game is decreased by the game's predictability.